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Which teams’ penalty kill units were the best and worst last season? (Penalty kill +/- in 2010-11)

Boston Bruins v Toronto Maple Leafs

TORONTO,ON - APRIL 3: of the Boston Bruins skates in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 3, 2010 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

Claus Andersen

Earlier tonight, I rolled out the 2010-11 Power Play Plus/Minus numbers as an alternative to the traditional power play percentage stat. Here’s a Cliff Notes explanation of the logic: PP% is misleading because it doesn’t reward teams who score the most goals (just the teams who are most efficient) and there is no penalty for allowing shorthanded goals.

For those reasons, I think “PP +/-" paints a far more accurate picture of which NHL teams had the best and worst power plays. Teams like the Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins and Edmonton Oilers had better units than many might have realized in 2010-11 while the Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche’s PP groups were actually more like double-edged swords.

Re-introducing Penalty Kill Plus/Minus

The league’s measurement of penalty kill units is similarly faulty, which prompts the sister stat Penalty Kill Plus/Minus. Naturally, it might not seem as “elegant” when the best team still has a high “minus” number, but this stat rewards teams who don’t recklessly take penalty after penalty and also gives PK units credit for scoring shorthanded goals, which can provide pivotal moments in games. (Just look at how Jordan Staal’s shorthanded goal seemed to shift momentum during the Penguins’ Stanley Cup finals series against the Detroit Red Wings in 2009.)

Before I reveal the 2010-11 PK Plus/Minus results, here are the rankings for the NHL’s 30 teams according to standard PK percentage. Stat categories include: times shorthanded, power-play goals allowed, penalty kill percentage and shorthanded goals scored. Note: stats are from the 2010-11 regular season, not the playoffs.

TeamTSPPGAPK%SHG
PIT3244586.113
WSH2994385.67
VAN3124585.66
LAK2764085.54
NSH2724184.95
FLA2674184.64
MTL3275184.45
TBL3024983.81
OTT2944883.76
NYR2574283.711
NJD2414083.43
NYI3105283.215
BUF30051832
MIN3085382.87
PHI3135482.813
BOS2654682.611
DET3005382.35
STL2795181.77
ANA3055781.37
CAR2725181.27
CGY2825381.27
CBJ3146280.26
DAL2775580.110
SJS2745679.66
CHI2555379.26
PHX2966478.45
ATL2856477.56
TOR2756277.45
EDM32174778
COL3147576.18

***

Now let’s look at how teams looked according to Penalty Kill Plus/Minus. Stat categories include: times shorthanded, power-play goals allowed and penalty kill plus/minus.

TeamTSPPGASHGPK +/-
NYR2574211-31
PIT3244513-32
BOS2654611-35
WSH299437-36
LAK276404-36
NSH272415-36
FLA267414-37
NJD241403-37
NYI3105215-37
VAN312456-39
PHI3135413-41
OTT294486-42
STL279517-44
CAR272517-44
DAL2775510-45
MTL327515-46
MIN308537-46
CGY282537-46
CHI255536-47
TBL302491-48
DET300535-48
BUF300512-49
ANA305577-50
SJS274566-50
CBJ314626-56
TOR275625-57
ATL285646-58
PHX296645-59
EDM321748-66
COL314758-67

***

Unlike the PP +/- results, the top teams saw some shuffles when you factored in total PP goals allowed and shorthanded goals scored. Here are the most interesting findings.


  • The Rangers went from 10th place to first because they didn’t take many penalties, only allowed 42 PP goals and scored 11 shorthanded. The Bruins climbed from 16th to third place for similar reasons.
  • The Penguins were the only team in the top five to take at least 300 penalties (324), yet they didn’t allow many PP goals and were dangerous shorthanded. Maybe Jack Adams award winner Dan Bylsma might want to put that on his resume ...
  • The Canadiens dropped from seventh to being tied for 16th because they took 327 penalties, allowing 51 goals in the process. They also didn’t create a lot of scoring opportunities going the other way, totaling just 5 shorthanded goals.
  • The Lightning dropped from eighth to tied for 20th because they allowed 49 PP goals (302 penalties taken) and only scored one shortie. They definitely didn’t enjoy it when a PK goal was scored either way last season, allowing 16 SHG and scoring just one of their own.
  • Want a snapshot of Colorado’s awful 2010-11 season? They had the league’s worst PP and PK plus/minus totals.

***

Now that we have power play and penalty kill units covered, the last post will put it all together.